114 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



troopers ; and so on for miles. They all drew 

 aside for us most respectfully ; and the soldiers 

 saluted, very smart and military. 



Under the broad-spreading mangoes near the 

 villages we came upon many open markets in 

 full swing. Each vendor squatted on his heels 

 behind his wares, while the purchasers or traders 

 wandered here and there making offers. The 

 actual commerce compared with the amount of 

 laughing, joking, shrieking joy of the occasion 

 as one to a thousand. 



Generally three or four degenerate looking 

 dirty East Indians slunk about, very crafty, 

 very insinuating, very ready and skilful to take 

 what advantages they could. I felt a strong 

 desire to kick every one of them out from these 

 joyful concourses of happy people. Generally we 

 sat down for a while in these markets, and talked 

 to the people a little, and perhaps purchased some 

 of the delicious fruit. They had a small delicate 

 variety of banana, most wonderful, the like of 

 which I have seen nowhere else. We bought 

 forty of these for a coin worth about eight cents. 

 Besides fruit they offered cocoa-nuts in all forms, 

 grain, woven baskets, small articles of handi- 

 craft and fish. The latter were farther from 

 the sea than they should have been ! These 



